Vehicle for transporting concrete



an- 12, 1960 M. F. KEMPER 2,920,582

VEHICLE FOR TRANSPORTING' CONCRETE Original Filed March 27. 1955 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l. .J .2 18 5 $2 1 f l m 9 :1 15 14 45 9/22 30 3 I 5 V INVENTOR.

MAXWELL E HEMPEQ,

a. Maw

Jan. 12, 1960 M. F. KEMPER VEHICLE FOR TRANSPORTING' CONCRETE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed March 27, 1953 INVENTOR. E

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iiniiiiK KEMPER, Ma

23 MAXWELL United States Patent Ofiflce 2,920,582 Patented Jan. 12, 1960 VEHICLE FOR TRANSPORTING CONCRETE Maxwell F. Kemper, Los Angeles, Calif.

Original application March 27, 1953, Serial No. 344,958. Divided and this application March 17, 1958, Serial No. 721,969

14 Claims. (Cl. 105-247) This application is a division of my application for Letters Patent of the United States, filed March 27, 1953, Serial No. 344,958.

Placers for this purpose are shown in my United States Letters Patent Nos. 2,313,826, issued March 16, 1943; 2,534,270, issued December 19, 1950; and 2,565,029, issued August 21, 1951.

In the use of these placers a train thereof loaded with concrete is run on tracks into the tunnel where the placers are unloaded by successively connecting them with a conduit through which the concrete is forced by compressed air to the lining forms.

The tracks on which the placers are moved, particularly the tracks in the tunnels, are temporary and in many places are not level. Consequently, the placers during transit over such tracks are subjected to tilting and vibratory movements causing agitation of the fluent concrete carried thereby. This agitation is objectionable as it tends to cause segregation of the components of the concrete.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a vehicle such as described, which may be advanced over uneven track without causing objectionable tilting of the vessel thereon containing the concrete and consequent segregation of the components of the concrete.

It is another object of this invention to provide a carrier or placer such as described which readily lends itself to being quickly and easily coupled to the concrete discharge conduit and compressed air supply lines regardless of being tilted sidewise, forwardly or rearwardly, or the coupling unit thereon being disposed at different levels as a result of variational loading of the placers.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a placer such as described which has an exceptionally low center of gravity, thereby lessening the tilting and agitating movement and making it possible to provide thereon a large capacity concrete carrying vessel whereby the placer is adapted for efiicient use in small bore tunnels.

It is an additional object of this invention to provide in a placer such as described a novel spring suspension arrangement for the concrete carrying vessel, which minimizes tilting of the vessel and agitation of the concrete as well as contributes to the other advantages of this invention herein set forth.

A further object is to provide a placer unit as aforesaid having a wheeled truck unit wherein the hopper or container projects well down between the wheels so as to provide a unit having a center of gravity which is lower than in previous placer units of the same length. This objective is accomplished by so constructing the hopper base or supporting frame as to accommodate wheeled supports of the stub axle type, with the axles being centered above the lower extremity of the container or hopper.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel running gear for a placer such as described, wherein a pair of truck units each having a pair of wheels for engaging but one of the two rails of the track, are independently spring mounted, whereby each unit is subject to a fore and aft rocking movement as well as a bodily movement vertically relative to the other pair, to compensate for irregularities in the track and prevent objectionable jolting and tilting of the concrete carrying vessel.

This invention possesses many other advantages and has other objects which may be made more easily apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. For this purpose there is shown one form in the drawings accompanying and forming part of the present specification. This form will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation, partially in section, of a placer embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken substantially on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view, taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view, taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 66 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on the line 77 of Fig. 6.

As shown in the accompanying drawings, a concrete carrier or placer embodying the present invention generally comprises a frame 8 mounted on front and rear wheels 9 adapted to be run on the rails of a track 10, such for example as may be laid in a tunnel to be lined with concrete. The frame 8 supports a vessel or container in the form of a hopper 11 adapted to contain concrete for delivery under air pressure through a conduit 12 to the point where the concrete is to be poured. The conduit 12 is adapted to be detachably coupled to the placers whereby successive placers of a train thereof may be coupled to the conduit.

As here shown, the frame 8 supporting the hopper 11 is mounted on a pair of identical truck units 14. These truck units are mounted so that each is yieldable relative to the other and with respect to the frame in a gen- .erally vertical direction to prevent jolting, tilting and vibratory movements of the hopper such as would cause agitation and separation of components of the concrete carried in the hopper when moving the carrier over uneven or irregular portions of the track.

Each of the truck units 14 includes an elongated wheelsuppo-rting member 15, mounting adjacent the ends thereof a pair of the front and rear wheels 9 for engaging one rail of the track 10.

The weight of the frame 8 and the vessel or hopper 11 is sustained by coiled springs 16 interposed between the members 15 of the truck units 14 and the frame 8 in a manner providing for relative fore and aft rocking movement of the truck units as well as for bodily yielding movement thereof in a vertical direction, to prevent such tilting and vibration of the frame 8 and hopper 11 as would cause the aforesaid objectional jolting and tilting of the carrier.

The frame 8 is rigid and of open rectangular form, being fabricated as here shown, of steel plate stock to provide like elongated side members 17 rigidly joined at their ends to front and rear end members 18 and 18a respectively.

The truck units 14 extend parallel with the side mem bers 17 of the frame 8 in inwardly spaced relation thereto, being spaced from one another according to the gauge of the track, whichin the present showing is of narrow gauge.

The end members 18 and 18a of the frame 8 are provided with pairs of inwardly extended opposed guide members 19 and 20 welded thereto for vertically slidably confining the ends of the wheel supporting members 15 therebetween and thereby connecting the truck units 14 with the frame for relative vertical movement. The guide members 19 are spaced from the inner sides of the frame members 17 a distance substantially equal to the spacing of the members 19 and 20 of each pair from one another. Thus, the guide members 19 and 20 in combination with the side members 17 of the frame 8, constitute means providing at each end of the frame, a pair of laterally spaced inner guide pockets 19a formed between the members 19 and 20, as well as a pair of outer guide pockets 20a formed between the side members 17 and the guide members 19. When the carrier is used on the narrow gauge track as here shown, the ends of the wheel supporting members are mounted in the inner guide pockets 19a. For a wider gauge track the outer guide pockets a are employed for mounting the members 15 in the same manner as these members are mounted in the inner pockets 19a.

The wheel supporting member 15 of each track unit is in the form of an inverted channel in which front and rear wheels 9 are mounted on short axles 21 journalled be tween opposed sides of the member 15. This arrangement makes it unnecessary to employ axles extending across the frame and providing for the desired low disposition of the hopper 11 and the discharge conduit extending from the lower end of the hopper. Suitable reinforcing webs 22 are welded between opposed sides of each member 15 to strengthen it.

Box-like sockets 23 open at their upper ends are formed at the ends of the members 15 in any suitable manner for reception of the springs 16. These springs extend upwardly from the sockets 23 between the guide plates 19 and 20, with their upper ends in abutting relation to the under sides of horizontal flanges 17a extending inwardly from the upper edges of the side members 17 of the frame 8, thereby yieldably supporting the frame 8.

As shown in Figs. 6 and 7, the lower ends of the springs 16 rest upon the bottom walls 23a of the sockets 23, being centered in the sockets on a hollow pin 25 fixed to the bottom walls.

T-bolts 26 have their T-heads 26a anchored for limited vertical sliding movement to the hollow pins 25. These bolts extend upwardly through the springs 16 and openings 27 in the flanges 17a. Nuts 28 are threaded on the upper ends of these bolts so as to contact the upper side of the flanges 17a. Protective caps 29 are welded to the nuts 28 and cover the upper ends of the bolts. The tension of the springs 16 may be varied by appropriate turning of the caps 29 and the bolts secured thereto. The T-heads 26a on the bolts engage in vertical slots 25a formed interiorly of the pins 25 to prevent turning of the bolts while permitting limited vertical movement thereof. With this arrangement of springs, bolts, and nuts the truck units 14 and frame are connected for limited relative Vertical movement with provision for relative rocking movement of the truck units in a vertical plane.

The ends of the wheel supporting members 15 of the truck units 14 are spaced from contact with the inner surfaces of the end members 18 and 18a and prevented from binding thereagainst incident to rocking movement of the truck units by means of transverse spacer bars 30 welded to the members 15 and having small rounded surfaces for slidably engaging the end members 18.

The vessel or hopper 11 is provided with an inlet 31 at its upper end subject to be opened and closed by closure means 32 corresponding to the closure means claimed in my US. Letters Patent No. 2,565,029.

The lower portion of the hopper 11 is conical and extends between and beneath the side members 17 of the frame 8. Opposite sides of the conical portion of the hopper are engaged with seat members 34 welded on the upper sides of the flanges 17a on the side members 17. These seat members have arcuate surfaces 35 conforming to the'curvatureof the conical portion of the hopper and welded thereto.

The discharge opening 36 at the lower end of the hopper communicates the interior of the hopper with a pressure chamber 37 formed in a conduit 38 secured to the lower end of the hopper as well as to the end member 13 at the front end of the frame 8.

As it is desired to provide a low center of gravity in this placer, the two wheel supporting members 15 of the trucks 14 are of reducedheight between their ends, as shown in Fig. 4, to accommodate a low disposition of the conical portion of the hopper 11 with the lower end thereof and the chamber 37 below the upper sides of the reduced portions of the members 15 and centered between the latter as well as between the front and rear wheels.

Concrete carried in the hopper 11 will gravitate into the. pressure chamber 37 from which it may be forced by compressed air through a discharge section 38a of the conduit .38 which latter extends through the front end member 18. The conduit 12 is adapted to be coupled to the discharge section 38a by means of coupling units 4!] and 40a on the conduit 12 and the front end member 18 respectively. These coupling units also provide for coupling the carrier with compressed air supply lines 41 and 42.

The compressed air directed through the lines 41 and 42 passes through nozzles 43 on the coupling unit 40 into an intake chamber 44 which is a part of the coupling unit 40a on the carrier. From the intake chamber 44, the air passes through a pipe 45 leading to a manifold 46 at one end of the conduit 38. From this manifold the air is directed through a port 47 into the chamber 37. A valve 48 normally closed by a spring loaded actuating means 49 is operable to control the volume of air entering the chamber 37. A flap valve 50 in the conduit section 38a is operable to close the conduit section to prevent escape of concrete before coupling the conduit 38a to the delivery conduit 12.

Coupling units 51 and 52 at opposite ends of the frame 8 provide for coupling the placer to another placer to form a train for movement into and out of the tunnel.

It will now be apparent that by reason of the construction and arrangement of the frame 8, the springs 16, and the two independently mounted truck units 14, provision is made for a stabilized transportation of a large capacity concrete-carrying vessel or hopper in a placer of low height and low center of gravity, whereby the tilting moment and agitation of the vessel or hopper are minimized and segregation of components of the concrete is prevented. Thus, with a carrier embodying the invention, a most efiicient lining of tunnels with concrete, particularly tunnels of small bore, may be carried out.

It should be noted that although the vehicle of this invention is particularly adapted for transporting concrete, it may be used to advantage for other vehicular purposes where it is desired to minimize jolting and vibration as provided herewith.

The vehicle per application referred tion is a division.

While the specific details of the invention have been herein shown and described, it should be understood that changes and alterations may be resorted to without departing from the spirit thereof as defined in the app ended claims.

se is the subject of my co-pending to hereinabove, of which this applica- I claim:

1. In a vehicle for transporting concrete: a frame having a pair of side members joined to a pair of transverse end members; a hopper for concrete mounted on said frame; means securing opposite sides of said hopper to said side members; a pair of elongated wheel supporting members arranged adjacent and substantially parallel with said side members with their ends opposite said end members; a pair of wheels on each wheel supporting member; means on each end member engageable with said wheel supporting members for connecting said frame and each of said wheel supporting members for relative vertical movement; spring means between said end members and said wheel supporting members yieldably supporting said frame; said hopper having its discharge end disposal between said end members and said wheel supporting members; and a discharge conduit connected with said discharge end and extended therefrom between said wheel supporting members beyond one of said end members of said frame.

2. In a vehicle for transporting concrete: a frame having a pair of side members joined to a pair of transverse end members; a hopper for concrete mounted on said frame; means securing opposite sides of said hopper to said side members; a pair of elongated wheel supporting members arranged adjacent and substantially parallel with said side members with their ends opposite said end members; a pair of wheels on each wheel supporting member; means on each end member engageable with the ends of said wheel supporting members for connecting said frame and each of said wheel supporting members for relative vertical movement; spring means between said end members and said ends of said wheel supporting members yieldably supporting said frame; said hopper having its discharge end disposed between said end members and said wheel supporting members below the upper sides of said wheel supporting members; and a discharge conduit connected with said discharge end and extended therefrom between said wheel supporting members through one of said end members of said frame.

3. In a vehicle for carrying concrete; a frame having a pair of side members joined to front and rear end members; a hopper for concrete mounted on said frame; means securing opposite sides of said hopper to said side members; a pair of wheel supporting members extended along said side members with their ends opposed to said front and rear end members; front and rear wheels mounted on each of said wheel supporting members; means on said end members connecting the ends of each of said wheel supporting members with said frame for independent vertical movement with respect to said frame; spring means between ends of the wheel supporting members and said end members yieldably supporting said frame; said hopper having a discharge end disposed between said front and rear wheels and below the plane of the upper sides of said frame and wheel supporting members; and a conduit connected with said discharge end and extended between said wheel supporting members beyond the front end member of said frame.

4. In a wheeled vehicle: a frame having a central opening; a container supported in said frame opening and having a discharge portion projecting through said opening; a pair of wheeled trucks at opposite sides of said frame; said trucks each including a longitudinally extended member engaged with said frame and located between one of said sides and said discharge portion; each of said members having wheel supporting stub axles; and said container discharge portion being located below the stub axle axes.

5. In a hopper vehicle: a hopper having a horizontally extended discharge portion at its base; a supporting frame disposed about said discharge portion; wheeled trucks disposed between opposite sides of said frame and said discharge portion; means on said frame providing for independent pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis transversely of the vehicle; and resilient means interengaged with said frame and said trucks and yieldably supporting said frame.

6. In a hopper vehicle: a hopper having a horizontally extended discharge portion at its base; a supporting frame disposed about said discharge portion; wheeled trucks disposed at opposite sides of said discharge portion within said frame; means on said frame and said trucks providing for independent pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis transversely of the vehicle; and resilient means interengaged with said frame and said trucks and yieldably supporting said frame; said trucks having opposed side walls between which the wheels are disposed and having stub axles extending between said side walls on which wheels are mounted.

7. In a container vehicle of the character described: a load supporting frame having opposed vertically extended end members; a pair of transversely spaced wheeled supports disposed within said frame between said end members and having their ends engageable therewith; said frame and said wheeled supports having portions in opposed relation transversely of the frame engageable with one another for limiting relative transverse movement of said frame and said wheeled supports; and resilient means interposed between said frame and said wheeled supports for supporting said frame on said wheeled supports for relative vertical movement; and a container mounted on said frame and having a discharge portion disposed between said wheeled supports.

8. In a container vehicle of the character described: a load supporting frame'having vertically extended opposed end members; a pair of longitudinally extended transversely spaced wheel supports disposed within said frame; said wheel supports each having end members engageable with the end members of said frame; one of said adjacent end members of said frame and wheel supports at the opposite ends of said frame having a channel into which the other of said adjacent members projects, with said wheel support freely shiftable vertically in said channels; a plurality of wheels carried by said wheel supports in spaced relation longitudinally of said support; means resiliently supporting said frame on said wheel supports; and a container mounted on said frame and having a discharge portion disposed between said wheel supports.

9. A container vehicle of the character described, comprising: a container having a vertically tapered lower end; a supporting frame having side members on which said container is mounted with its lower end extending through said frame; end members interconnecting said side members of said frame; a conduit extending from the lower end of said container through one of said end members, a pair of elongated wheeled trucks mounted within said frame on opposite sides of said lower end of the container; resilient means independently connecting each of said trucks with said frame and yieldably supporting said frame; the wheels at one end of said trucks being disposed at opposite sides of said conduit; and stub axles carried by said trucks on which said wheels are mounted, the axis of said .stub axles normally intersecting said conduit.

10. A wheeled hopper comprising: a frame having a central opening; a hopper mounted in said opening and having a discharge portion; a pair of wheeled trucks within said opening having independently mounted wheels at opposite sides of said frame with said hopper discharge portion disposed therebetween; and means independently connecting said trucks with said frame for free vertical movement of said trucks relative to said frame and pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis.

11. A wheeled hopper comprising: a frame having a central opening; a hopper mounted in said opening and having a discharge portion; a pair of wheeled trucks having independently mounted Wheels spaced inwardly from opposite sides of said frame Withsaid hopper discharge portion disposed therebetween; and resilient means independently connecting said frame with said trucks for free vertical movement of said trucks relative to said frame andpivotal movement of said trucks relative to said firame about a horizontal axis.

12. A wheeled hopper comprising: a frame having a central opening; a hopper mounted in said opening and having a discharge portion; a pair of wheeled trucks having independently mounted wheels spaced inwardly from opposite sides of said frame with said hopper discharge portion disposed therebetween; and means independently connecting said trucks and said frame for free vertical movement of said trucks relative to said frame and pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis, said connecting means including a plurality of springs interposed between said frame and the respective trucks.

13. A wheeled hopper comprising: a frame having a central opening; a hopper mounted in said opening and having a discharge portion; a pair of wheeled trucks having independently mounted wheels at opposite sides of said frame with said hopper discharge portion disposed therebetween; and means interposed between end portions of said frame and end portions of each of said trucks for independently mounting said trucks for free vertical" movement of said trucks relative to said frame and pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis.

14. A wheeled hopper comprising: a frame having a central opening; a hopper mounted in said opening and having a discharge portion; a pair of wheeled trucks having independently mounted wheels at opposite sides of said frame with said hopper discharge portion disposed therebetween; and means independently connecting said trucks with said frame for free vertical movement of said trucks relative to said frame and pivotal movement of said trucks relative to said frame about a horizontal axis beneath said hopper; said trucks each having longitudinally extended members having central depressions providing clearance of space for movement of the trucks relative to the hopper discharge portion.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Rettig Apr. l, 1893 

